American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana has once again raised concerns about cheating in online chess tournaments, making strong remarks about the popular Titled Tuesday event organised on Chess.com.

Caruana, one of the top players in the world, admitted that he does not really enjoy playing in the weekly online event and even called it a “stupid tournament.” However, he said he still participates because it helps him secure qualification spots.

“No, I don’t enjoy it. It’s a stupid tournament, but if there’s a small goal to work towards, I’ll go towards that goal,” Caruana said during a recent interview on C-Squared YouTube channel.

Caruana raises cheating concerns

The 33-year-old also spoke about the proctoring system used in online tournaments like Titled Tuesday. Caruana said it still has several problems, but at least it helps in curbing cheating.

“It’s incredibly laggy, but I have to admit it probably does help a lot with cheating. I used to be unable to get past the first game in Titled Tuesday. It was just impossible. I would score like under 50% against players, you know, maybe close to 2000 level. Now I usually get past it without any exception. So, we’ve made some progress, Chess.com. You’re able to stop the 2000s and 1800s,” Caruana said.

Later in the interview, when
Caruana was asked about world champion D. Gukesh’s latest remark on over-the-board cheating, he agreed that it is sometimes overhyped by the media and others, but remained critical of how online platforms often try to sweep cheating incidents under the rug.

“Over-the-board cheating is not really talked about too often, right? Usually the focus is on potential online cheating, which must be a bigger problem. Not necessarily in terms of the seriousness, but in terms of volume it must be bigger because it’s simply easier to cheat online,” Caruana said.

“When there is a big over-the-board cheating scandal, players get banned and kicked out of chess. We see it rarely that a grandmaster is caught cheating over the board, maybe once every few years, and when that happens the player is often banned from chess for a long time, sometimes permanently. But online cheating is often swept under the rug. They find the person, but they quietly deal with it and make sure that nobody really finds out who it is,” he added.

This is not the first time Caruana has spoken openly about the issue. In August 2025, the grandmaster had strongly criticised the event and said cheating was “rampant” in online competitions. He had also criticised the proctoring tools used in online events, describing them as ineffective and inconvenient for players.